Bunnell says he will not retire from Montville police department

Montville — Mayor Ronald K. McDaniel Jr. said Friday that police Lt. Leonard Bunnell has informed him he has no intention of retiring from the town police department.

Bunnell, who has worked for the department for more than 30 years, has been the target of a state police investigation into Bunnell's alleged improper use of a computer database used by police for background checks.

The investigation was recently completed, and McDaniel said that he has a meeting scheduled for Thursday with Bunnell and his union representative. The mayor said he will present Bunnell with proposed disciplinary action set forth in the police union's collective bargaining agreement.

The Day has filed a Freedom of Information request seeking documents pertaining to the state police investigation. The town has yet to release the final state police report.

McDaniel, who by charter is the town's police chief, said previously that a biannual audit of the Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing system found several "anomalies" concerning Bunnell. There were 38 instances under review in which state police investigated whether proper protocol was used when accessing the system.

The system not only provides in-state criminal justice data but also gives authorized users access to two national systems — the FBI's National Crime Information Center and the International Justice and Public Safety Information Sharing Network.

The Day has also filed an FOI request with state police for documents pertaining to the Bunnell investigation and has requested the 38 names that he allegedly accessed.

Police union President Robin Salvatore said in an email Friday that the union has no knowledge of the consequences of either investigation other than being told that the investigations are complete. She declined further comment.

Salvatore was referring to another investigation in which police Officer Karen Moorehead filed a harassment complaint against Bunnell. Moorehead said Bunnell treated her unfairly and made inappropriate comments about her appearance.

The Day has filed an FOI request with the town asking for documents pertaining to the Moorehead complaint.

Richard Lenda, a former town police sergeant, also continues to pursue a defamation lawsuit against Bunnell in which he asserts disparaging personnel reviews Bunnell made cost him a job as a state marshal.

Bunnell has used compensatory time in recent weeks after the town received the findings of the completed state police investigation.